Firelily
by rosebud896
Summary: Lily is trapped in a world not her own. She finds friendship in characters from a cartoon she thought fictional and finds courage in herself thought not to exist. Her courage brings discoveries of unyielded power, memories of her past, and a bond so strong it can withstand any war thrown their way. Zuko/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or its characters.

Chapter 1

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><p>Walking through the streets of Ba Sing Se was perfectly safe. (If you live in the rich part, it is daytime, and you have either great security, or are a bender.) I do not live in the rich part. It is nighttime. I am neither a bender, rich enough to have security guards, or able to defend myself from a butterfly. I was also running from some douchebag trying to steal my only bag of items that I had on me and I didn't even know I was in Ba Sing Se.<p>

I took a swift left and looked over my shoulder to see if my chaser was getting closer. When I didn't see him take the left down the alley I decided to hide knowing that I couldn't keep running with my burning lungs. I jumped into a deep crate that had a few rotten vegetables at the bottom of it. The smell made me gag for a moment before I was able to hold my breath to avoid him coming after me. I heard the footsteps running past the crate I was in. I kept still for an additional five minutes holding my shaky breath as steadily as I could. I cautiously peeked my head out from the crate and noted that there was no sign of the man. I took a relieved breath and pulled myself out of the crate.

My heart had slowed down for the first time in the past hour. I fumbled around through my bag and propped it up against the edge of the crate to pull out my iPhone. I checked for service again and found nothing. I shut off my phone hoping that restarting it would help me find some service or figure out the time. No beans. I shut it off again this time for good to save the battery. I pulled out my water bottle and drank some of it and saved the rest for later.

Frustrated tears were ready to come out but I just held them back, knowing that they served no purpose. I had no idea where I was, what time it actually was, or how I even ended up in wherever I was. The area definitely did not look like the east coast of the USA. Instead of freaking out and crying I took a moment to relax and decided it would be best to sleep until the morning and then figure out my way back home. I broke the crate into long pieces exerting my frustration into the action and propped it up against the side of the alley wall to create a mini-shelter. I pulled out my hoodie from my backpack and used it as a pillow to cushion myself from the hard dirt ground.

I woke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of a wakening city. I could hear people talking in the distance. I could hear the movement of crates and barrels being moved and transported. I stiffly retreated from my hiding place. My entire body was covered in filth. I shook out my hoodie and threw it back into my bag then brushed off my jeans and maroon sweater. I ran my fingers through my hair a few times to loosen the knots and rake out some of the dirt. I threw my brown backpack on and took off towards the cities streets hoping to find some direction back home.

The wooden structures threw me off when I took in the scenery this time with a calm and open mind instead of being overtaken by my adrenaline and fear. There were wooden carts that were being pulled by god knows what type of animal. They looked a little like emus. There were people that looked like they were of an Asian origin dressed in clothes that looked like they were from an ancient time period in an Asian country. I stuck out like a sore thumb and received many disapproving looks. _Okay, just ask someone how to get back to Trenton and everything will be back to normal in no time. I'm probably in some weird part of Chinatown in Philly or something._ I noticed that all of the words on signs were written in another language that I didn't know so I only kept an eye out for maybe a subway or some other sign that would let me know where I was. I saw a young man opening up a shop that seemed unapproachable so I moved on to a plump elderly man next to him who seemed friendly.

"Excuse me sir" I called out to him. Both the old man and the young turned their attention to me. The tall young man squinted his nearly gold eyes at me almost confused but held an aggression in them that made me want to move onto the next shop. The old man however changed my mind by his warm smiled and friendly eyes.

"Hello! How can we help you on this beautiful morning? Could I recommend our fresh batch of chamomile tea, it may take a few minutes seeing as we just opened but its well worth the wait" he started to walk inside. I knew I needed to save the money I had with me to get home so I politely declined despite my urge to accept.

"I'm sorry, not today. I was actually curious if you could give me directions back to Trenton, or if you had a phone I could borrow for a minute. You see I got lost somehow and my phone isn't able to pick up a signal here." I knew halfway through asking him the question that I had lost him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint but I've never heard of a place called Trenton and I don't believe we have any phones around here" the old man gave me a very apologetic look. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Could you tell me then where here actually is" I blushed knowing that I sounded either like a drunkard or a lunatic.

"You are currently in the fine city of Ba Sing Se." I almost fell to the ground when he said that. I suddenly recognized everything. The large amount of green accented clothing, the large walls surrounding the city, the odd hybred animals, and obviously the fact that I was talking to Iroh and Zuko. I was not in Chinatown, I was not in Eastern USA, I wasn't even on planet Earth. I was somehow in the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender.

I don't even think I said goodbye to them I just started walking. Nothing made sense. The world I was in wasn't cartooned yet it seemed exactly as the cartoon had portrayed it. I didn't understand exactly how I ended up in some alternate universe or how this universe could even exist seeing as how some television network made it up for children. I didn't even stop to think about the fact that I had run into probably my favorite characters from the series I just walked around the better part of the day trying to calm my frantic brain.

By the time I was finally able to sit down for a few moments the sun had almost set and I was sitting in a lush green field just outside of the bustle of the city but still inside the walls of the city limits. I removed my shoes to find that my feet were swollen from all the walking and chugged the remaining water that I had. I threw the bottle back into my bag and threw my hair up into a ponytail. I heard a rustling of the grass beside me and took no notice of it until I saw Iroh sit down next to me. His eyes were red as if he had been crying and I noticed that he was carrying a picnic basket with him, which resembled the one he had carried the day that he celebrated his sons birthday. I knew today must have been that day.

He did not look at me. He only stared ahead with a slight smile on his face. We watched the sun set together. I didn't know what to do at first. I wanted to throw my arms around him and shriek like a small girl that I was meeting such an awesome person in real life, however I lacked the motivation to do it and knew that we both needed this moment to comfort each other. When the sun had fully set I took a deep breath in and let it out.

"I am far from home, and I don't know how to get back" I said softly still not looking at him. He had always given such great advice to people on the show I hoped that he would do the same for me.

"There is a story of another world that we connect to through the spirit world. It is said that a long time ago humans traveled to that world from here by first traveling through the spirit world. Home is what they created here. Home is wherever you can find your destiny" he turned and smiled at me with wise old eyes. I smiled back and sighed. He somehow knew I wasn't from this world. The clothes were probably a give away but there is no way that he would recognize the clothes and associate them with the world I was from since he had most likely never seen an example. I was glad that I didn't have to further explain myself since I didn't know how to. I wanted to mourn for the loss of my friends back at Earth and for the loss of my normal life but knew that I could be happy here if I could wait out the war scandal and find a decent job. The world of Avatar: the Last Airbender had always seemed so mystical.

"My name is Lily" I smiled on one half of my face staring up at the new star constellations.

"It is a pleasure to meet you in the physical world Lily" he said as if we had met before. I glanced over to him for a moment confused but wasn't given time to question his odd remark and instead was helped up quickly as he pulled my upper arm to stand me up.

"It would also be my pleasure if you would take up the extra cot we have laying around in our humble apartment" he smiled "in exchange that you help out in the tea shop everyday from dusk until dawn." I thought about the offer for a moment. I wanted to refuse, feeling bad for imposing on him and Zuko but knew that for the time being I had nowhere else to sleep besides under the broken crates. I bit my lip for a moment.

"I would be honored" I picked up my backpack from the ground and began another long walk back to his apartment.

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><p>Author's Note: Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed. Criticism is always welcome; it is how I learn. The next two chapters are already finished and will be up soon.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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><p>Thankfully Zuko was asleep when we returned to the apartment so I did not have to deal with any sass attacks that I was sure would occur. Iroh pointed to a corner in the small apartment that had an extra cot laying down. I flopped down onto the thin hay filled mat and quickly fell asleep, exhausted from walking the entire day.<p>

I woke up the next morning being picked up out of my bed aggressively and shoved against a wall. I blinked a few times to get a clear view of the narrowed eyebrow and practically glowing eyes glaring at me.

"What are you doing in here" an aggressive voice rang out. I was fully awake by this point and face-to-face with Zuko screaming. I clutched his wrists that were holding me in place by my shoulders.

"H-H-He told me I could sleep here if I worked at the shop" my voice cracked on the word 'shop.' Zuko darted his eyes over to where his Uncle was waking up. Iroh looked surprised up towards him.

"Nephew, I invited this young woman to stay with us. I don't believe that this is the kindest way to wake up our guest" he cautiously stated. I was suddenly dropped straight onto the mat. Ouch.

"Uncle, may I talk to you... in private" Zuko looked back at me with cold eyes as he pulled Iroh into their bedroom and closed the doors. I rubbed my shoulder where I was crushed into the wall.

I could hear only bits and pieces of the argument since the walls were thinner than toilet paper. After a few minutes Zuko stormed out of the bedroom ignoring me and left the apartment slamming the door shut behind him.

"How about some nice ginger tea to start the day" Iroh tiredly suggested.

"Ginger tea sounds lovely" I huffed.

A half hour later, Iroh had given me a green kimono looking dress and helped me hide my backpack full of my belongings. I kept my fake pearl earrings in and placed my hair into a low loose bun with a few strands of hair left out on the front. I frowned knowing that I was still not going to fit in well. My features looked Caucasian and my hair was still a dirty blonde.

Sure enough I was correct. On our way to the shop I received less stares from what I could remember from the long walk the day before but many people still held their gaze at my hair mostly. I felt a sharp crack on the back of my shoulder. I immediately turned around to face it Iroh curiously glanced at me then looked back to the group of girls who were laughing their heads off.

"Look Tai! I bet you've never seen that before."

"It looks like she rubbed mangoes in her hair." The group four girls started cackling. Iroh took a hold of my elbow and pulled me away from the girls who continued throwing small stones as we walked away. I bit my lip from shouting out to them but I knew that I didn't want to bring attention to Iroh and Zuko more than I already was. Iroh took my silence as sadness.

"The world takes a while to accept difference as beauty, but when it does, that beauty will be a treasure" he held open the teashop door for me. Zuko was standing inside with an almost dead expression. His face was completely emotionless but what kept him alive was the fierce anger and frustration behind his beaten eyes. I nodded to Iroh's response and walked in. Zuko held out the broom to me.

"Sweep the front of the shop" he snapped then pushed past me to do work on a broken cabinet. I went out to do my work without a fight knowing that his attitude would change soon from what I remembered from the show. As I sweeped I tried to remember all that I could from the show I had watched as a child. Some aspects stuck out to me and I had completely forgotten the fillers in between. I knew that soon enough that Zuko was going to abandon Iroh and I hoped that I wouldn't have to see that, maybe I could stay at the tea shop and continue working here. I had no desire to get involved in fights since I had absolutely no ability to defend myself.

I recognized a girl with two long braids walk into the shop. She glanced at Zuko a few times who looked mortified every time she would. I saw Zuko go up and whisper something to Iroh. I figured that this was when Zuko would go on the date with her. Jin walked up to the counted and surprised Zuko. I laughed out loud and watched from the doorway. Zuko glared at me for a moment then finished his business with Jin. I listened in.

"What's your name" she asked sweetly.

"My name's Lee" he turned around with no expression, "my uncle and I just moved here."

"Hi Lee, my name's Jin. Thank you and, well I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?" Zuko stared at her again with no expression. You could see he had no idea what to say but before he could respond Iroh jumped into the conversation.

"He would love to" Iroh smiled widely. Zuko looked away like a cat stuck in a corner begging for help.

"Great! I'll meet you at sundown" she turned away.

Iroh threw his hand over Zuko's shoulder and mischievously smiled at him. Zuko came out of his fazed out and trapped expression to snarl at Iroh. I laughed and walked up to the counter and handed him the broom, finished with sweeping. This seemed to anger him more and he snapped the top of the broom handle with narrowed eyes in my direction.

"Smooth move Spryo" I droned. He ignored me, probably not getting what 'Spryo' meant, or caring. We continued on the rest of our day giving people their orders and making tea. I was exhausted by the time the shop closed, however we returned to the apartment an hour before sundown. Iroh forced Zuko to wash up and asked for my assistance to do his hair and get him ready.

I smiled as I stared down at the ratty mess. He was already dressed and angry about the overly done outfit. I felt like a child with a magnifying glass, standing there with the globs of hair grease. Zuko, the puny ant, had fire burning in his eyes.

"Don't worry it's not going to hurt you physically" I slapped my hands together and got ready to style his hair, "but it may hurt your ego." I laughed and began my evil torture.

Ten minutes, many visualed scenarios of my death from Zuko, a can of hair grease, and a cup of tea later I was finished my masterpiece. Iroh was very pleased with my finished work; Zuko was less than thrilled. Iroh decided he was going to make dinner for the two of us and handed Zuko a small bag of money to pay for his dinner with Jin. I began to clean up my hands as Zuko twiddled with his intricate outfit. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes again.

"Where are you from" he snapped. I sighed and finished up my last dish.

"I'm from a place I'll never be able to go back to." Our eyes met, I could see his aggressiveness fade slighty.

"Do you want to" he asked. I thought about it for a moment. The only problem with coming here was the loss of some of my favorite music and the loss of one or two friends. Either place I lived in would lead to a similar life.

"It doesn't really matter to me, I just want to be able to live in peace" I responded. I turned around and saw him struggling.

"I know where you're from, and I know who you are. You don't need to open up anything more than that if you're not ready." He shot a shocked look in my direction. "And I'm not going to tell anyone about you both so don't worry. I just want you to stop looking at me like I'm going to figure out your big secret and turn you in." He glared at me still, I knew that wasn't going to convince him otherwise yet.

Iroh came back into the room scrambling about. He was as excited as my mother was on my prom night.

"It's just sundown nephew! I think you should be going" he almost pushed Zuko out of the apartment to outside. We watched him walk down the road towards the teashop from the window.

"Iroh," I tapped him on the shoulder as he was lost looking out the window.

"Yes Lily?"

"Um, I think the chicken is burning." Iroh jumped up and attended to our burnt chicken, which was delicious regardless. After we ate dinner Iroh and I sat down so that he could teach me how to play pai sho.

"Iroh, you said yesterday that you were glad you had met me in the physical world. I'm confused about the way you said that" I asked as I moved a lotus tile over a few spaces.

"I think you need to figure out that answer for yourself one day" he said moving another tile along the board. He took another sip of his tea. I nodded my head. For some reason I had a very dark feeling rush over me that I would end up being involved more than I wanted to with the entire Avatar timeline.

Iroh and I played pai sho for another hour before I decided to wash up a little in a bowl of water and attempt to wash my hair the old fashioned way. I heard the doors open so I peaked my head in.

Iroh was facing away from Zuko pretending that he hadn't been looking out the window for him for the past twenty minutes.

"How was your night Prince Zuko" he called out as Zuko stood between the two doors to where his cot was located. Zuko looked at me for a moment, I noticed that his hair was no longer in the greased back state he had left in. He looked knotted his eyebrows together and slammed the doors shut. Iroh turned around to look at the doors. Gently they parted again and Zuko's expression was much more calm.

"It was nice" he responded and stared at me as he shut the doors again this time without a slam. Iroh and I smiled at each other then retired shortly after for the night.

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><p>An: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Any criticism is welcome it is how I learn to become a better writer. The next chapter is finished and will be posted on Sunday.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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><p>I enjoyed working at the teashop during those weeks. The tea was so fresh, unlike the normal Lipton teabags I used to use. Iroh taught me a lot about the world, a lot of the details that I never picked up watching the show as a kid. There were a few days when I would need some time away from Iroh and Zuko so that I could work out some pain from missing my friends. I started to slowly accept that I would never see them. Sometimes my best comfort came from Zuko ironically. He wouldn't pat my back or sing soft kitty, or anything remotely normal in the terms of comfort. Instead he would come into the room open the shutter so that I was forced to see the night sky and he would point out the star constellations to me.<p>

We didn't click right away by any means; it took a long time for him to even be able to bear me being in the same room as him. Slowly we did grow a connection that I would define as complex. He would yell and snarl at me and I would reply with a quip occasionally, however when we calmed down we could enjoy the company of the other by just sitting in the same room and not speaking.

He still questioned my motives. I had caught him on more than one occasion following me when I went on errands for Iroh to the marketplace or to make home deliveries of tea. Often times when I immerged in conversation with someone I could tell he was eavesdropping. The longer I stayed with them, the less I caught him snooping on me. Whether it was him learning to trust me more or him getting better at it I don't know.

I had found out by mistake that it was soon to be Iroh's birthday. I had been storing away the tips I had received at the shop so that I could try to move away and burden them longer but I decided that I could spare some money for the man who saved my life practically. I had found a beautiful tea set at a market one afternoon but was walking with Iroh, so I told the shopkeeper that I would be back after dusk to purchase it.

I tip-toed as softly as I could out of the apartment which wasn't hard with Iroh's loud snoring covering up any extra sound I was making. Before I left I checked and saw that Iroh and Zuko were still sleeping. I quickly walked through the streets glad that I had easily escaped the apartment. It wasn't even five minutes after picking up the tea set when I halted in my footsteps. The same men who had chased me on my first night in this world were standing only thirty feet in front of me and were blocking my path. I quickly made a right hand turn down another road but found some more men blocking my path. I turned completely around this time and found that I was being surrounded. Shit.

"I told you no one escapes me sunflower," the tall gruff man grumbled.

"Stay away!" I snapped.

"What's gonna stop us" another shorter and stumpy man asked, "I don't really see you as the fighting type sweat pea."

"She may not be, but I am" a voice called out from overhead. I shrieked quickly when a man jumped from the roof of one of the buildings jumped and landed on top of one of the six men. He pulled out two swords and began swiftly taking out the men one by one. They fell like bowling pins. I backed up into the wall as the man stood above the unconscious bodies facing away from me. He placed his swords back in the holder slowly. I could see the glint of the moon in them. He slowly looked over his left shoulder to glance at me. I recognized the mask. It was Zuko dressing up as the blue spirit. I had to pretend like I didn't know though.

He turned completely around to face me. I stared at him intently. He took a few steps in my direction until he was almost on top of me. I realized how short I was next to him. He was a little less than a head taller than me. My face was hot so I knew that I was blushing. His eyes weren't squinted or anger filled like they usually were and it confused me to no end. _Why are you standing so close?_ I was ready to run away from the scene, feeling more than awkward.

"Go home" he said softly and moved his shoulders so that I could squeeze past him and run down the alley to return to the apartment. Obviously the first thing I did when I entered the apartment was look to see if Zuko was in his bed. He was. _I ran faster than I have my entire life how the heck did he beat me?_ Part of me wanted to rip the covers off of him and reveal him. I was tired of being followed everywhere I went.

Instead of causing a scene, I closed the doors to his and Iroh's bedroom and curled up on my matt in the corner after hiding Iroh's birthday present in my trunk. I decided as I fell asleep that I was going to learn a way to defend myself instead of hiding or waiting for someone else to come save me.

In the morning, I woke to Iroh making his favorite batch of pork along with some Gin Seng tea he had been saving. Before he was about to make the tea however I stopped him.

"Wait" I scratched my eyes and sat up tired from the few hours of sleep, "Happy Birthday Iroh."

"Thank you Lily, would you like to share a fresh cup of tea with me? It would be the greatest present of all" he asked as he began to tear apart some of the tea leaves.

"I would love to, but first I would like you to open this" I smiled and swiftly pulled out the brown package from the trunk. Zuko came into the room and sat down at the table. Iroh smiled graciously.

"There was no need for this" he laughed from his belly. I smirked knowing that my decision was a good one. When he pulled out the tea set from the box I swear I could see him tear up.

"This is absolutely beautiful" he exclaimed and pulled me into a tight hug. I was surprised at first but softened into it. Zuko rolled his eyes and huffed. I knew he was going to be in a bad mood today. Iroh excitedly made a batch of tea as I finished up making breakfast for all of us. I set out the bowls and served food into each of them just as Iroh poured the tea into the new cups.

"I'm sick of tea" Zuko snapped and left the room presumably to mope about being in Ba Sing Se. Iroh shrugged his shoulders and took Zuko's cup for himself. I felt bad for Iroh, Zuko's attitude had been growing progressively worse by the day and you could tell that soon the rubber band that has been stretched to far is going to snap.

Iroh and I enjoyed the rest of our morning together before heading to the shop where Zuko's terrible mood flourished into a full blown storm of grumpy remarks and snarls. I was able to hold my anger but felt that at some point I was going to snap if he didn't perk up for at least five minutes on Iroh's birthday. I was at the counter ringing customers up. There had been such a large increase in the number of customers and the diversity of them that I was practically always at the register. Many people from other rings were coming to our shack of a shop just to get a cup of Iroh's tea.

Three men were sitting at a table in the back corner as Iroh poured his tea for them. I saw the men look at each other exchanging knowing glances. For a second I thought that they were going to call Iroh and Zuko out on being Firenation. The men stood up from the table suddenly. Zuko also glanced over with wide eyes.

"So you're the genius behind this incredible brew," I breathed out in relief and I saw Zuko exchange a glance with me then return to his chores. "The whole city is buzzing about you. I hope Paou pays you well." The man in the front lifted the cup of tea back up to his lips and his expensive rings shimmered in the light of the daylight.

"Good tea is its own reward" Iroh responded graciously.

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to own your own tea shop" the man offered Iroh who was in complete awe.

"My own tea shop! This is a dream come true!" The three men and Paou fought with each other trying to make their offer sound more interesting to Iroh. In the end Iroh obviously chose to move to the upper ring and own his own teashop. "Did you hear nephew? This man wants to give us our own teashop in the upper ring the city," he continued his smile to share with Zuko.

"That's right young man, your life is about to change for the better" the man in the front seemed genuinely happy for Zuko.

"I'll try to contain my joy" Zuko slammed down the tray of tea to deliver and stormed out of the teashop. I glared at the spot where he had just left. I couldn't believe he was being so rude to Iroh let alone on his birthday.

Iroh and the man discussed the business of their deal in which the man would take ten percent of the profit if he invested in the business for them. I was happy for them at first but then I slowly started to think about the fact that I would have to find my own way from here. I had no idea if Zuko and Iroh would be able to take me with them or if they would leave me here. I didn't expect Iroh to be the type of person to abandon me, but I understood that they couldn't take me with them forever. I also remembered that soon Azula would be coming to take over Ba Sing Se and while I would love to stay with Zuko and Iroh I knew that there was no way I could defend myself.

After Iroh finished his discussion with the men, he collected the wages for us and informed Paou that we would not be working for him anymore but gave him a few suggestions for who to hire next so that he wouldn't go out of business. Iroh was too kind of a heart to let someone suffer. We returned to the tiny apartment and played Pai Sho while waiting for Zuko to return. I must have been quiet for too long with my thoughts.

"What is on your mind" he asked while placing a tile down. I snapped out of my daze.

"Nothing, I was just curious about what some decent jobs are here that I could get and live happily with" I looked up to him for his advice.

"You will not be working at the tea shop with myself and my nephew" he asked shocked. I smiled sadly.

"I would love to for now, but I do not want to burden you both with taking care of me for the rest of my life" I shrugged making my next move. He was quiet for some time.

"Do you remember how you came here yet," he asked me, for the first time since I came here addressing the world I came from. I snapped my eyes up and shook my head 'no.' He placed his next tile down.

"I think once you start to remember a few things it will be clear the field of work you are to pursue." He never raised his eyes to me and we finished our game then began packing our few belongings into trunks to prepare for moving within the next few days. It was a few hours later when Zuko returned from wherever he went.

"So I was thinking about names for my new teashop" Iroh addressed quickly when Zuko entered the apartment. "How about, the Jasmine Dragon. It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it." Zuko ignored his suggestion and instead revealed a flyer to Iroh displaying Appah.

"The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se, and he's lost his bison." Iroh took the flyer and shook his head a little sadly. "We have a chance for a new life here, if you start stirring up trouble, we could loose all the good things that have been happening for us." I stood by the sink and dried off dishes instead of involving myself, this situation was for the two of them to work out with each other.

"Good things that are happening for you" Zuko corrected and whirled around to yell at Iroh. "Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea" he snapped.

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest that you think about what it is that you want from your life and why."

"I want my destiny" Zuko turned back towards the window.

"What that means is up to you" Iroh started to become a little sterner and Zuko walked into the bedroom.

"The Tea Weamole" Iroh exclaimed excitedly at me. I giggled a little bit at the sudden change in conversation. "No that's stupid" he shook his head at himself.

Iroh and I finished packing away all the things we did not need for the next few days and cleaning up. Zuko did not come out of the bedroom for a long time. I finally decided to go say something so that he could at least be civil on Iroh's birthday. I walked into the bedroom and found him laying on his mat. I reached down and ripped the blanket away to find a few of his bags laid out underneath his blanket to make it look like he was laying there. I remembered what was supposed to happen that night from seeing the cartoon.

"Fuck me" I sighed realizing I was going to have to get involved with the affairs when he was not in his bedroom.

"He's gone," I told Iroh who was slightly surprised by my foul language.

"He's gone to get the Avatar's bison" he concluded, I nodded my head agreeing.

"I know where he is," I said digging out my pair of jeans, sneakers, and my long sleeved maroon shirt that I had arrived in. If I was going to have to run and possibly fight people I was going to wear what I wanted. I changed quickly and left my hair in the long ponytail it had already been in. Iroh seemed uneasy as we left but I would presume anyone would be.

It took us two hours to get to the outer edge of the rings but after we got past that I knew we weren't too far. I brought Iroh to the lake and we ducked inside a bush. There were a few dai li agents standing guard one of the entrances to the underground lair. I pointed to Iroh where we had to go he nodded.

He jumped out of the bushes quickly and threw fire at the unsuspecting agents. The one fell into the water and the others dodged the sudden burst. I watched the fight from the bush not knowing what to do when I heard rustling from behind me. It was one dai li agent who was patrolling. I stared doe-eyed and back out from the bush toward where Iroh was. The agent threw a rock hand toward me. I threw my hands up to protect myself and never felt the rocky hand even fly by me. All I felt was a sudden gust of wind blow away from my person. I opened my tightly squeezed eyes and saw the dai li agent passed out against a tree as if someone had violently shoved him backward thirty feet. Iroh was not even aware of my situation, so I knew that either it was some odd paranormal scenario or I had just air bended. I decided to test out my new hypothesis. I walked up next to Iroh carefully and took a deep breath before pushing my hands forward in a stop motion to blow a blast of wind that sent another Dai li agent far out into the lake. Iroh finished off the last agent then smiled at me. I stared out into the lake where the man had landed shocked.

"I didn't know I could do that," I said realizing I was shaking from the adrenaline.

"You can accomplish much more when you are not restricted by fear."

I nodded my head and opened the vault that lead to the underground. He started to go down and waited for me. I shook my head 'no.'

"He needs just you right now, plus someone has to stand guard" I smiled and shut the vault behind him. I stood outside the vault for a few hours and watched the sun rise. Every time a Dai Li agent would start to wake up I just send a blast on them and they would remain unconscious.

Sometime around seven in the morning as I watched the early morning sky I saw what looked to be Appah fly across the sky with a long moan. I smiled knowing that Zuko had freed the bison and that they were on their way back up towards safety. Even though I knew what had happened in the television show, I felt like things were going to go differently with it being real life and it terrified me that maybe Zuko or Iroh, whom I had grown close to, could be hurt or killed.

Just after seeing the bison clear the sky, I heard Iroh and Zuko climb up the ladder of the vault. Zuko was dressed in the same outfit he had saved me in the previous night, except that the mask was in his hands. There was a sadness over the both of them so I remained silent on their arrival.

"You did the right thing nephew," Iroh said. I stood up and walked over to stand next to Zuko when he pulled out the blue mask in front of him. "Leave it behind," Iroh advised. Zuko stared at it a moment longer before letting it fall into the water and sink out of sight.

"Let's go home," I said after a bit. We all walked together back to our apartment.

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><p>AN: Thank you for reading, I hop you enjoyed! I made a few small changes to chapter 2 to make Zukos character a little stronger. Any criticism is welcome, it is how I learn. Chapter 4 is finished. I will most likely upload it sometime Wednesday-Friday.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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><p>It took us longer to get back than it did to go there since we ran half of the way the first time. I noticed that as we were returning that with each step Zuko grew a little paler and little clammier. I made sure to walk close to him in case he passed out.<p>

"You did the right thing" Iroh shut the door behind us, "letting the Avatar's bison go free."

"I don't feel right" Zuko grumbled. I snapped my head around just in time to see his eyes roll back.

"Iroh" I yelled as Zuko collapsed to the side. I grabbed him before he fell into the table. He may be lean but he was still heavy with how tall he was so having all of his weight on top of me was a struggle. Iroh rushed over and helped me carry him to his mat.

"Is he okay" I asked feeling very worried as Iroh checked Zuko's vitals.

"He will be fine, he is just ill. Could you bring me the wash basin and a bucket full of clean water with a ladle please" I nodded and jumped to the task. I brought the items back in quickly, Iroh had undressed Zuko out of the black pants and shirt he had previously had on into a pair of raggedy pants. He put a think wool blanket on top of him as well.

"He's already sweating so much, shouldn't we cool him off" I asked acknowledging the thick blanket.

"No, he needs to sweat it out. Thank you" I handed him the items he asked for.

"Does he need a doctor or medicine. I can go grab one, you can use my money if you want. I don't mind I would rather him get better" I rushed.

"Lily…"

"Maybe he needs some orange juice, do you have orange juice here? That always made me feel better."

"Lily…"

"Or I could stir up some chicken broth to-"

"Lily" Iroh took a hold of my hand bringing my attention back to him. "Why don't you go pick some flowers for the room to freshen it up for him." I nodded and set out on the journey.

Somewhere about two hours into flower picking and three bundles later I figured that I was over exaggerating and headed back to the apartment. I placed the three bundles into vases and placed them around the room. Zuko was still passed out on the mat sweating. I kept glancing down at him every time I would hear a slight noise.

"Has he woken up yet," I asked after rearranging the flowers for the fifth time.

"Yes, he woke up for a little to drink some water," Iroh said, "You look tired Lily why don't you sleep for a while and then we will switch turns when you wake up." I nodded my head realizing it was nearly noon and I hadn't slept a wink the night before. I laid down on my cot and tossed and turned for an hour before falling asleep. My sleep was no more peacefully than my process of falling asleep had been.

_An all black wolf that was three times larger than normal size approached me, I was going to go back to my old city of Trenton. I ran up and hugged the animal as if it were my friend. The wolf licked me from toe to head and nuzzled into me. I climbed up onto the back of its shoulders and took hold of its fur to keep myself stable, but the dog lifted its butt off the ground while leaving its front legs lowered so that I flipped off of him. I stood up confused._

"_What's the matter boy, why can't we go," I asked patting his head. His eyes shut and he placed the crown of his head against mine._

_Images flashed into my head of my experiences at Ba Sing Se: the teashop, Iroh, the apartment and finally Zuko. My voice came out about the images just as I saw myself being rescued by Zuko. "Let's go home." I backed away from the animal and cried when the images disappeared. The wolf whined and nuzzled into me again._

I woke up wiping tears from my eyes. I looked over to where Iroh was sitting and saw that he was nodding off. I threw the flimsy blanket off of my body and walked over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he woke up.

"I'll stand watch, you can go sleep" I rubbed my eyes and took his place. Zuko was still sleeping with a sweat.

"He has had nightmares through his entire slumber" Iroh yawned warning me.

"So have I" I stretched out my stiff back.

"The spirits are hard at work as of late," Iroh mumbled as he laid down on my mat so that he wouldn't disturb Zuko, and fell asleep.

I spent a half hour dabbing water on Zuko to clean his skin and wash his sweat soaked hair.

I jumped a little when his eyes snapped open and stared wide right at me. He looked terrified for a while before he tried speaking.

"Are you okay" he asked weakly reaching his hand up toward my face. I took a hold of his hand and pulled it away blushing.

"I'm fine, I'll stay with you while Iroh sleeps," he fell back into the mat and closed his eyes. I tried to pull my hand away but he held hold of it with a tight grasp. I sighed and sat in silence for a while with my thoughts.

After some time he let go of my hand to swat something that wasn't there. I had this quick fear that he was going to firebend in his sleep and set our apartment on fire. I decided that I would pack and keep a close eye on Zuko. We had only the rest of the night and some of the morning to finish packing up. I changed back into my kimono and finished packing up the bedroom that Zuko had been staying in minus the mat he was sleeping on and a warm outfit for him to wear through the move. Iroh came back in after he woke up and handed me my mat to pack away as well.

"I will watch him if you wouldn't mind packing up the rest of the kitchen" Iroh asked and sat down with a pot of tea for Zuko. I nodded and left them alone. I was halfway finished packing up the rest of the kitchen when I heard Zuko stir awake. I peaked my head into the room.

"Lily" Zuko yelled jumping up. Iroh grabbed him before he could jump up. He relaxed when he realized his surroundings. I walked over to the two of them and smiled at Zuko.

"I'm right here, I'm fine" I knelt down on the other side of Zuko, opposite of Iroh. Iroh started to pour Zuko a cup of tea.

"You should know, this is not a natural sickness. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea" he helped Zuko sit up and drink the cup. Zuko pulled his head away from the cup after a few sips.

"What's happening," he asked weakly.

"Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body." He gave Zuko the rest of the tea.

"What does that mean?" Zuko asked using up the rest of his energy. He started sputtering and fell back onto the mat still coughing.

"You are going through a metamorphosis my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience," Iroh shook his head and looked up at me for a moment then turned his attention back to Zuko. "But you come out of it you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be." He started to dab Zuko's face with a wet rag. Zuko took hold of my hand again and closed his eyes to rest. After some time I pulled Zuko's hand off of my own and continued on my work from before. I didn't miss the smug look from Iroh however when I carefully extracted Zuko's hand from my own.

I finished packing the rest of the house just before noon. Iroh was getting Zuko ready for the travel. He was bundled in warm clothes and still had the thick wool blanket on top of him. I carried a container of water with us for him to drink from every now and then. Iroh and I loaded up a wagon full of our belongings and we took off in a closed carriage in front of another group of people driving the wagon on those strange animals I had seen on the first day I had been in Ba Sing Se. Zuko leaned his head against the side of the carriage and slept the majority of the way. I was peering out of the window absorbing every view I could get. The cartoon did the real thing no justice, despite the amazing artistic ability that the cartoonists displayed. I could smell the cherry blossoms and feel the cool wind bounce off of streams that were placed throughout the upper ring as decoration. Everyone was dressed in fine silks and had beautiful, intricate hair styles.

We stopped at a crossroad to let another carriage pass when I heard the shrill laugh I had heard a few weeks ago.

"Tai! It's the mango girl" a voice squeaked. I rolled my eyes and blew a blast of wind that blew her dress up to reveal her undergarments. Everyone on the street laughed at her. I leaned back against my seat with a pleasant smirk.

"Is she moving into the upper ring" one of the girls asked.

"As if! She's wearing rags my servants use to wipe their asses with" the girl whose underwear was just revealed to the rest of the world snapped. I rolled my eyes at their shallow remark. It stung but I didn't feel that I needed material things to be beautiful, but the next comment felt as if the girl had just punched me in the face.

"And her face looks like what they needed to wipe off," I felt tears prickle in my eyes but I kept it in. When the carriage started to move again, I noticed that both Zuko and Iroh were staring at me. I looked back out the window instead of letting either of them say anything.

The new apartment brought my spirits up as soon as it came into view. I felt like a child seeing snow for the first time. I couldn't wait to dart out of the carriage and begin unpacking. The first thing we did however was set up a mat and then assist Zuko out of the carriage and onto the mat in the new bedroom that him and Iroh would be sharing. Then we helped the men unpack the trunks and small pieces of furniture into our new apartment.

The new apartment was beautiful. It smelled only of sweet flowers and fresh grass that lined the outside instead of the pungent smell of rotten food and dirt. I was excited to find a well only ten feet from the front door opposed to having to walk four blocks to fetch water. After all of the items were brought inside Iroh and I washed down the entire house to make sure it was clean before we started laying rugs down and brought in the new furniture that was delivered.

After everything that was necessary to put out was placed, Iroh and I took a break for a much needed dinner. Zuko was still passed out so we decided not to cook more than needed. We decided to do what we had the previous night. One of us sleep for half while the other kept an eye on Zuko and then switch halfway through the night. Iroh took the first shift so that I could sleep. I was able to fall asleep swiftly since I was less worried about Zuko. His fever had dropped and his nightmares were getting less dramatic. I slept peacefully until a very weary Iroh awoke me. We switched positions and he slept in my bedroom while I attended to Zuko.

Zuko was disturbed by the sound of me walking when I sat down next to him. He stirred awake and opened his eyes to stare at me. He reached out for my hand silently and took hold of it. This time it wasn't as if he were trying to hold on to his life. He was only trying to hold on to me. His eyes made contact with mine for one more intimate moment before they closed again to return to sleeping.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading, I'm not finished chapter 5 so I will at least be Sunday by the time I upload, I also have a lot of essays that need to be worked on so updates will be a little slower now. Criticism is always welcome, it is how I learn. I had one really nice suggestion that helped me develop Zuko better; I'd really like to thank CrossingtheDeleware for that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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><p>Zuko spent another three days recovering while Iroh and I prepared the shop for the opening day. He had decided on a name and sent a brochure over to the printing press to release around town for advertisement. Iroh and I had to purchase all new china, furniture, décor, and supplies for the shop with the money that they investor had given to Iroh. In the end the shop was beautiful and we were excited to open up the shop the following day.<p>

Iroh had fallen asleep easily that night from all the work we had been up to. For some reason I could only toss and turn the entire night, I kept thinking about my friends back at home and how I missed them and even my family. I walked out into the living area and made a pot of tea. I opened up a window and stared out at the clear night sky sipping on hot chamomile tea.

I jumped when I heard the pot of tea move from behind me. I nearly dropped my cup until I turned around and saw Zuko standing halfway in the shadows unlit from the moonlight with the pot in his one hand and a teacup in the other.

"Shouldn't you be resting," I asked hushed.

"Shouldn't you be asleep," he asked pouring tea into the cup and setting the pot back down. I huffed.

"I thought you were sick of tea?" I turned back to face the window taking another sip of my tea. Zuko took a few steps to stand next to me and took a sip from his. He pointed out at the sky.

"There is a star left of the tip of Rozins raised hand" I looked up to the Rozin constellation and saw a slightly red tinted star left of Rozins hand.

"I see it." He moved his hand to another star.

"Then another one below it, brighter but not red," I nodded after I found it. He pointed out three more stars that I was able to find easily. "The last one is just above the first star." This time I couldn't find it immediately. I set my cup of tea down and moved closer to the window squinting up at the night sky. Normally I had always found the stars but this time I couldn't seem to spot it. After a bit of searching, I gave up.

"I can't find it" I shook my head. Zuko walked up behind me. He pointed up and out again. I followed his hand and squinted again. I felt him step right behind my back and look over my shoulder to see my view. I snapped my head to look back when I felt his head come close to my shoulder. He gently grabbed my chin and pushed my head up, towards the sky.

"There" he pointed out again. This time I saw it.

"What is the constellation," I asked begging that he couldn't see my burning red cheeks.

"It's called the firelily," he said turning to face me. I turned around away from the window. We were as close as we had been the night he had saved me from the men trying to rob me. We stared at one another for a while, there was no hostility, no snarky comments; there was only sweet burning amber.

A clang followed by hot tea burning the skin of my unprotected feet brought us out of the staring contest. I hissed and picked up the luckily unbroken cup and set it on the counter. Zuko backed away as I cleaned up the liquid from the floor. When I finished cleaning I looked up from where I was cleaning and found that he was gone from the room. _I swear he disappears quicker than Batman._ I shook my head and returned to my mat.

_I was walking with the big black wolf through gardens I recognized but couldn't remember where from. We wandered around peacefully for a long time until we came across an oasis on an island surrounded by bright red lilies. The wolf stood just before the perfect circle of sparkling water and nudged me in front of it. I knelt down right in front and peered into the water. I saw my friends from home, Grace and Samuel. The twins were sitting in their living room where I had lived for the past few months before leaving them. They were both asleep with a pile of photos most of them with me in it. I bent over further into the oasis to see which photo Grace was holding in her hands. Just as I realized the one she was holding was of the first day we had met in Pre-K I felt the wolf nudge me right into the water. I fell expecting to feel the cold of the water but instead met a sensation I couldn't describe._

_I was standing in the living room I had previously been observing._

"_Grace… Sam" I hesitantly called out. Grace stirred. When her eyes came into contact with me I could see instant tears start to form._

"_Lily" she jumped up from the couch and went to hug me but my body wasn't present. Her arms swung right through me. She stepped back confused, "What's going on?"_

"_I don't know, I think I was meant to come here to tell you that I'm okay. Are you really real right now" I asked sadly wishing that I could hug my best friend._

"_Yeah, I mean this is really weird but I think I'm awake" she bit her lip holding back tears which were starting to spill, "are you alive Lil?"_

"_Yes," I laughed starting to tear up as well. "I'm somewhere you wouldn't believe, but" I started to choke, "I don't think I'm coming back." Graces head dropped and she stepped back. "I think I'm being allowed to say goodbye." She brought her eyes up to meet mine._

"_Goodbyes are a blessing, I love you Lily" Grace cried holding out the picture she was holding to me. _

"_I love you too Grace." I brought my hand up to touch hers and felt a gust of wind and the faintest brush of skin against my index finger. I could see my hand start to become transparent until nothing was left to see. I was brought back to the kneeling position at the oasis. The black wolf was cuddled around me and nudged me until I was laying on its back as it walked me back to Iroh's apartment._

I jumped away. The first thing I noticed was the strong pungent smell of Juke. _Yuck._ The next thing was the photo placed in my hand of Grace, Samuel, and I on our first day of Pre-K. A sob left my mouth before I could stop it. Last night had really happened. I ran about my room until I could gather my senses enough to put the picture away in my backpack. I looked in my mirror to make sure that my eyes weren't too puffy and tearstained and stepped into the kitchen and eating area.

"What's that smell," Zuko asked walking into the room with new fresh clothes on. Iroh turned around surprised to see Zuko walking around even strong than the previous night.

"It's juke, I'm sure you wouldn't like it" he said stepping aside so Zuko could take a woof.

"Actually, it smells delicious" Iroh and I both looked at him skeptically, "I'd love a bowl uncle." He picked up a bowl from the counter and held it up towards the pot of disgusting mush for Iroh to spoon out for him.

"Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow." Iroh poured some into the bowl.

"It's a new day, we've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop" Zuko smiled and sat down at the table with his bowl of juke "things are looking up uncle."

I shook my head and took a bowl for myself, ate what I could before gagging, which resulted in Zuko taking the rest of it. I went back into my room to get changed back into my raggedy kimono and throw my hair up into whatever would keep it out of my face. I sighed staring in the mirror feeling shabby and knew that it was the best I could do for the day.

Despite my sulky mood from the mirror image of myself, I was excited to open the shop for the first day. We had heard people on the streets talking of it both on our journey down and while walking around the upper ring, so I was sure that we would have a large turn out.

All three of us eagerly stood in the door and welcomed new customers in. I was in charge of ringing the customers up while Iroh brewed the tea and Zuko took care of all the maintenance like usual. We had waitresses dressed in fine white dresses decorated with jade colored embellishments and jade hair pieces with gold embellishments of dragons. I hated standing near the girls, it felt like standing next to a princess while being a hobo.

To top my already self-confident mood off, my blood boiled when I heard a very familiar shrill laughter walk up to the register. I slammed the drawer closed and put on the fakest smile my face could muster.

"Hello, I hope you enjoyed your tea" I perkily spat through clenched teeth. The girl threw down her receipt and then threw the money on the ground behind the counter. I glared at her forgetting to be nice since she was a customer.

"Oh what, did I forget the tip" she sneered and threw another few coins on the counter in front of me, "maybe that can get you some more mangoes for your hair. Tell me is the dye job coming out or is that just dirt?" She flicked a piece of my hair that had some dust laced through it from cleaning out a cabinet earlier. The girls behind her laughed until the one named Tai chimed in.

"Maybe it can pay for a new dress!"

"What dress, that's barely a bath robe!" The girls all laughed together. I was ready to jump over the counter and deck them when something blocked my path. Zuko had stepped in between the girls and I. I didn't see his face but I knew he wasn't happy by his tone.

"Leave this shop. You're not welcome back" he quietly threatened. I noticed that most of the shop was staring at us, minus Iroh who was in the back. The girl in the front snickered.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize her boyfriend was going to beat me up" I could hear her sneer again. They stood their ground for some time before the girls gave up.

"Whatever, let's go ladies" the head girl snapped. Zuko remained in front of me with his back turned away for some time before he returned to bussing the tables. I took a deep breath to pull the tears back and return to my own job. I picked the money from the floor up along with the tip and put it in the drawer. The rest of the day went by uneventful until it was time to leave the shop. Everything was closed down; Iroh and I were sitting at a table together while Zuko finished up cleaning the last few cups and teakettles.

"Ah" Iroh sighed into the chair, "this is beautiful." He closed his eyes and leaned back. I smiled and stretched a little.

"I'm finished cleaning uncle, do you want to head home" Zuko asked.

"I think, nephew, that I am going to stay here a bit longer and enjoy this day some more. You two should head home and get some rest though," Iroh kept his eyes closed. I could tell he was where he wanted to be in this moment. I stood up and patted his shoulder before leaving through the back door with Zuko.

The two of us walked back to the apartment building together in silence. Normally I would have started a conversation about something but I was not in the mood for it. I had barely noticed that we had been walking so long by the time we got back. When we entered I went to go to my room but was stopped.

"Wait" Zuko grabbed my hand as I stood in the door frame, "I… I have a surprise." I turned around confused. Zuko pulled a package out from on top of the table that wasn't there when we had left in the morning. He turned to me and held it up with a slight smile.

"Zuko… what is this" I asked looking between him and the cloth covered package.

"Just open it" he half laughed out. I smirked and took the package from him. I untied the strings holding it together then opened the cloth to find the most exquisite dress I had ever seen. My mouth dropped and I pulled it out completely so I could see it.

"Oh my gosh" I gushed and held it up against my body. "Zuko! This is beautiful, where… when… you didn't have to do this!" I threw my arms around him and quickly withdrew when I realized my mistake.

He sheepishly laughed and scratched the back of his head. Even in the dimmed moonlight I could see the red on his face.

"It was no problem, I wanted to. I went to a shop during my lunch break, go put it on." He threw the wrapping cloth and the string into a drawer. I ran into my room and put the dress on. It was a light green kimono underneath with an off white dress type on top with an empire waist with a deeper green ribbon that came down to my knees. There were cherry blossom designs on the bottom of the dress that faded as it went up, then on the chest area there were larger cherry blossoms. I looked in the mirror after putting it on and felt like a young child playing dress up. The dress seemed too nice for me to wear. I decided to fix up my hair a bit and took it out of the sloppy bun. Instead I pulled half of it back so that the rest fell down my back curling at the ends with some pieces falling at the sides of my face. I smiled at my reflection for the first time in a while. I felt like I fit in a little better with the change of wardrobe.

Timidly I walked to the doors of my room and slid them open. Zuko was standing by the window facing out. When he turned around I saw his eyes widen. I felt self-conscious again suddenly and turned to go back into my room, embarrassed.

"Wait," he stepped forward a slightly more serious look than before on his face, "there's one more thing." I faced him again fully as he pulled something out of his robe. I stared at his hands when they opened to reveal a bright pink bundle of blossoms attached to a hairpin. I looked up into Zukos eyes with a slight smile on my lips. He reached around my head and placed the pin in where the top half of my hair was pulled together. I bit my lips together and refused to look into his eyes when he returned to where he had been. We were as close as we had been the night before again. I could hear the both of us breathing in odd manners.

"Those girls are jealous," he breathed. I dipped my head to the side not wanting to think of them. "They're jealous that you get all the looks and attention from the people on the street. Not just because of your hair, but because when people look at you they see someone they can trust and find truly beautiful." I looked back up to him surprised that he had known exactly what I needed to hear. I never expected something so sensitive to come out of his mouth.

"Thank you," I whispered biting my lip again this time with a smile. He smiled back softly. Slowly our smiles faded from our faces. I felt a kick in my gut when I saw him glance down at my lips. He took a step closer to the point where I felt his internal heat radiating near me. His fingers gently found mine in the dark. I tilted my head up a little more so that I could more easily see his face. He slowly lowered his toward mine. With every inch he drew nearer I felt myself start to feel dizzier. His lips hovered just above mine for a moment. I felt the heat from his breath fall across my lips. I could see the heat in his eyes burning my own; the heat from his body burning my flesh. I thought I had felt enough heat to be able to imagine hell until he leaned even closer and met my lips with his.

I kissed him back feeling myself relax, my eyes slid shut and my moved my one hand to rest on his chest. He slid his hand that wasn't holding mine to the small of my back. I pulled my lips away when I felt my breath start to go. He looked down at me with narrow golden eyes.

"Happy Birthday" he whispered. I widened my eyes, shocked that I had forgotten my own birthday, and that he had remembered. He pulled away from me completely and left me to steady my breath. I watched as he retreated into his room and slid the doors shut. Just before they completely closed, he looked at me with the moonlight illuminating his face. I couldn't remember a moment where someone had looked at me as if they knew every inch of my being and adored it, but I would imagine that was it.

The doors fully shut and I followed in his footsteps and retired for the night. I was exhausted, thrilled, confused and concerned all at once. I was terrified that the romantic gesture that just occurred could have negative outcomes with the rest of the events. If everything didn't go exactly as it had in the television, there might be a chance that Ozai could win. Even without the change, could I rely on a children's' cartoon to adequately predict the future? I shook the thoughts out of my head and went to bed still trying to settle the quickly flittering butterflies dancing in my belly.

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><p>AN: Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter may not be up until next weekend I have a lot of work to do for school, sorry! As always criticism is welcome, it is how I learn.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wohoo! End of the semester means I should be posting back on the track I was before soon.

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

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><p>The next morning I awoke to find my new dress folded up on the floor. I gingerly slipped into, loving the sensation of the soft fabric sliding down my body, then slid the blossom pin into my hair like I had the previous night. I stepped out of my room and decided to cook breakfast. I chopped up an apricot and cucumber and threw it in the pot with rice already cooking. This was my favorite dish and since it was my birthday I decided it would be fine to splurge a little. I decided to push any bad thought from my head for a day and just enjoy my new life without worrying about the war, Zuko, Iroh, or my possible effect on the upcoming events.<p>

"That smells absolutely wonderful" Iroh yawned kneeling down at the table, waiting patiently for me to finish cooking. I smiled.

"Thank you" I served out a bowl for him and placed it down in front of him with a cup of tea. Zuko was standing just behind me when I turned to put the pot of tea back. I crashed into his chest and we both fumbled with the pot of tea so that it wouldn't fall and burn our feet. He finally got a hold of the pot.

"Uh… here," he stepped back so that I could get around him. Both of our faces were bright red as we separated. I poured both of us a bowl each. Upon turning around I found Iroh smirking at Zuko with a very knowing glance that he then turned to me. I made sure to pretend I didn't see that glance and enjoyed my breakfast.

We headed out to the tearoom for the second day of business. The previous had proven that we were going to do well, we had earned back all the money we had pulled out of our own pocket for extra decorations plus some. Most customers promised to return, except of course for the group of girls Zuko had kicked out. I helped Iroh prepare some tea before customers started arriving. Zuko worked on setting the tables for the day.

Soon enough the shop was crowded and a never-ending flow of customers ran in and out. The three of us worked hard, I never left my spot at the counter once I started, Iroh rarely got the chance to leave the kitchen, and Zuko was running around grabbing whatever Iroh needed, handling some customers, answering questions, and cleaning up the tables and messes. Throughout his running around, I noticed that he would squeeze past me by placing his hand on the small of my back When he would do this, I would turn by head back to look at him and feel a slight blush creep up. Our eyes would make contact for a moment where we both would smile at each other then continue on our work.

It was around four o'clock when Iroh and Zuko had a small break from their work and stood in front of the counter where I was still working with customers.

"Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I'd end up owning my own teashop," Iroh sighed watching a customer come into the shop. "Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you."

"Congratulations Uncle," Zuko smiled at him.

"I'm very thankful." Iroh closed his eyes with a content smile. He reminded me of my cat I had when I was younger after eating a filling meal.

"You deserve it, the Jasmine Dragon will be the best teashop in the city."

"It already is," I chimed in from behind the counter. "Have you seen how many customers we have flowing through?" Iroh and Zuko nodded at this comment.

"No, I am thankful that you decided to share these special days with me. It means more than you know" he patted Zuko on the back, but Zuko pulled him in for a hug instead.

"Now let's make these people some tea" Zuko walked around to the back. Iroh smiled gingerly.

"Yes, let's make some tea" Iroh ran after Zuko. I giggled seeing the old man genuinely excited about tea.

"Lily, can we switch shifts? One of the customers spilled their tea all down my dress and I don't want to look shabby as the hostess," Avani sweetly asked. I nodded happy for the break from my cycle. I walked to the front and seated numerous customers for an hour until one girl came up to the doors. As usual I bowed as she entered, but when I straightened up I knew that my eyes were betraying me.

"Table for two please," the girl who obviously was Katara, asked with a furry white Momo perched on her shoulder. I darted my eyes to find Zuko taking an order from a couple I had just seated.

"Uncle! I need two jasmine, one green, and one leachy." Katara widened her eyes when she followed Zuko's voice.

"I'm brewing as fast as I can." I could hear her audibly gasp. When I turned around to look at her again she was running quickly away from the shop.

"Wait" I called out to her. She didn't even bother to turn around. I had a split second to panic not knowing what to do. I didn't remember this part of the show. I knew that Zuko and Iroh were in Ba Sing Se and that they ended up getting split up to go to the Firenation but I didn't really remember how they got split up and Iroh put in jail. Things were starting to be set in place for that split though; I could feel it.

I put on a fake smile the rest of the day at the shop. We closed late again, it was nearly eleven o'clock when we were finishing up cleaning up when a man showed up in the doorway with a scroll. Zuko and I took a break from cleaning to watch Iroh accept the scroll.

"A message from the royal palace" the man bowed then left the shop. My eyes were wide. Iroh opened the scroll and read through it. Zuko leaned his broom against the table.

"I… I can't believe it," Iroh seemed shocked.

"What is it Uncle" Zuko asked.

"Great news" Iroh grabbed my hand and "We have been invited to serve tea, to the Earth King!" I could feel my skin run cold. I suddenly remembered what events would follow this invitation. Iroh ran back to the kitchen and started planning out the tea he wanted to serve. Zuko looked more content than I had ever seen him. I decided to keep my troubles to myself, but I knew that the tea for the King the next day was definitely going to be one of the last times I would see Zuko and Iroh for a long time.

I urged them to finish cleaning the shop as soon as we could since it was already late night. I wanted to really enjoy this night with the two of them. Iroh was more tired than he thought himself to be and went to bed almost ten minutes after we returned from the shop. Zuko took Iroh's spot for pai sho since the game had only just begun.

We played listening to the music of the crickets singing outside the apartments and to the melody of the night birds gently cooing and to the percussion of the waters of the landscaped waterfalls falling and crashing into the cool pools below. I felt as if the world were trying to comfort me with the beautiful sounds I had never taken the time to appreciate from where I came from.

Three-quarters of the way through the game I couldn't figure out what move I wanted to take. I blankly stared at the board thinking about how comfortable I felt in that moment, sitting with Zuko in silence. I made my move after another minute but found that he didn't see it. I looked up to find him staring at me.

"What," I blurted out feeling surprised. He jumped and threw his gaze back towards the table.

"Nothing," he half laughed out, but I could tell by the way his voice slightly halted that there was more.

"Tell me" I grabbed his hand across the table before he could make another move. Then quickly withdrew it after the intimate look he gave me following the touch. I blushed.

"It's just, you're probably one the few people in my life I would say is my friend," he said, but his facial expression made me think that it was a bad thing.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I just…" he laughed and relaxed onto his side, "I just feel like I don't know anything about you."

"Well, would it make you feel better to know something about me" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, here goes. This is one of the most important, biggest secrets of my life" I motioned with my index finger to come closer. He hesitantly moved his head closer. I brought my lips right next to his ear, leaning across the table. "I've never told anybody in my life but… I have blonde hair." We both burst out laughing and fell back to our original spots. He took the throw pillow next to him and threw it across the table at me.

"I mean, something that's not skin deep," he half laughed out. I thought for a moment.

"Okay" I started and flattened out my now slightly wrinkled dress. "My favorite color is that peachy color at sunset, and my favorite sound is when you can hear the waves crashing on the beach" I said matter-of-factly. He seemed almost serious for a second. "Your turn" I bounced up out of my spot and pulled a bottle of sake out of the cupboard. If we were going to have to talk about ourselves, I sensed that we were both going to need some help to do so.

We stayed up until it was nearly morning. We finished half the bottle within the first hour of our talk and talked about nearly everything we could think of. The only things even our drunken selves stayed away from were the bad memories. Neither of us brought up anything painful; we simply enjoyed each other's company and of course the sake.

His uncle had already told him that I was from another world so it wasn't a shocker for him when I broke it to him. It was fun to explain to him things from my world that he couldn't even imagine if he were sober. We laughed after he asked I explained to him the meaning of Spyro.

"It's a little purple dragon that has to save all the other dragons from being frozen in place," I giggled a little and watched him begin laughing as well.

"Your turn, I want you to teach me something from the Firenation," I leaned my face against my hand on the table. He thought for a moment then jumped to his feet.

"Very well," he cleared his throat then held out his hand to me. "My lady" he addressed, I laughed again and took his hand. He helped me to my feet. "This is called the Gagaku. It is the court dance of the Firenation performed at every event by a dance troupe." He walked around behind me and placed his arms around me to take a hold of mine. "Bring your arms up like this," he guided my arms up forward and then pressed his right foot against mine to bring it up, "and bring your foot up like this. Then you sweep it out to the right" he tried to guide my foot to the right like his had but accidently tangled our feet together and we tumbled down onto the ground. He was leaning against the wall and I was leaning against him in between his legs.

We laughed hysterically for some time until I could catch my breath and wipe the tears out of my eyes from laughing so hard.

"Maybe we should save dance lessons for a time without sake," I looked up at him with my head against his shoulder still leaning against him. He blushed and nodded agreeing. I felt a wave of sadness rush over me. Not only was today the last day I would see him for some time, but he would also be returning to the Firenation where he had reconnected with his friend Mai.

"What's wrong," he asked. I bit my lip and thought of what to say.

"I don't want this to end," I said sadly.

"It wont," he confirmed. _It will, and it will be soon_. His glowing gold eyes captured me for a moment before he brought his lips to mine for a moment. The kiss was different from the one we had shared the other night. It was pure sweetness and comfort. I closed my eyes and nuzzled into his neck curling up against his upright position. I savored the sensation of feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath and the warm air that would sometimes travel down the side of head. He wrapped his arms around me and we sat like that for a long time until we had both fallen asleep.

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><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading! The next chapter should be up by Friday or Saturday. I still have two more finals to take so I'm really only writing during breaks I take from studying. (Lol jk I'm writing to procrastinate myself from studying.)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This one is significantly longer than the others and was surprisingly the quickest one to finish. Probably because I was using it to procrastinate myself from studying heh heh.

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

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><p>I awoke in the morning smelling something cooking. I moaned and opened up my eyes and then jumped up from my position. Zuko and I were still leaning against the wall, except his arm was wrapped around my waist and I was leaning onto his shoulder.<p>

My startled behavior woke Zuko. We made eye contact with each other. I was too afraid to turn around knowing that Iroh would be standing at the stove.

"Good morning" he sang out. I groaned and placed my hand over my face in embarrassment. "Come and enjoy this fine breakfast I prepared for this marvelous day." _A marvelous feast for you, the last supper for me_. Zuko and I regretfully kneeled down at the table as Iroh placed bowls down in front of us. He kneeled down at the head of the table in between Zuko and I who refused to make eye contact with each other.

"It's best that we all eat up so that we can be the best that we can be for this very special occasion" Iroh acknowledged our bowls of food that neither of us had touched yet, too embarrassed from our encounter, and myself feeling too anxious about our soon to be separation. I suddenly had a small glimmer of hope that in some way shape or form, my being in this universe would alter the path the Zuko would soon take. I knew that by the end of the war, Zuko would be the great hero he was destined to be, but maybe the struggle would be easier with a friend along the way.

After pushing the food in my bowl around for a few minutes, I decided to help Iroh by packing baskets full of the tea supplies we had planned on bringing and helping him pick fresh leaves for the tea. I enjoyed the process of making tea with him; it made me feel like I had a family. Zuko packed the baskets into a carriage that pulled up at exactly noon. We each made sure to dress our best even though I knew we weren't going to be seeing the Earth King. I went into my room and threw my personal back into a new Earth Kingdom bag, in case we didn't come back to the apartment.

"It's my brush and an extra hair ribbon to make sure I'm presentable" I explained to Zuko who was eyeing my bag. He shrugged and jumped into the carriage. Iroh followed, I stayed for a moment to admire the building behind me. It was most likely the first place I had ever managed to feel at home even though I didn't belong there at all. I took one last deep breath of air and took Zuko's outstretched hand helping me into the carriage.

Iroh sat across from Zuko and I eagerly looking out the window. He reminded me of a child on their way to the toy store. I couldn't help but feel terrible about what was about to happen. I felt as if I should stop them from going, but at the same time, I had this feeling that it had to happen.

After a half hour of traveling, we arrived at the palace. Zuko stepped out first then helped me out of the carriage. Iroh came out last carrying one of the baskets. Zuko grabbed another. I watched the carriage take off then noticed the suddenly somber yet peaceful face Iroh had.

"What's wrong" I asked.  
>"Many times I imagined myself here, the threshold of the palace; but I always<p>

thought I would be here as a conqueror. Instead we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing." Iroh smiled modestly.

"It sure is Uncle," Zuko agreed. We walked into the palace together. I suspiciously eyed each agent I saw, not certain if they were going to attack yet or later. We were brought to a kitchen where we were allowed to prepare the tea, then we were brought to the tea room where a table was set up for us to present the tea. The three of us kneeled together on pillows they had placed out on the other side of where the kings seat was positioned. Zuko sat in between Iroh and I. I could feel my heart rate pick up the longer we were kneeling in the room.

After a few minutes I anxiously reached out for Zuko's hand and held onto it. He sent a curious glance in my direction but took my hand anyway. Iroh repoured a cup of tea so that it was hot since the previous cup had grown cold.

"What's taking so long," Zuko asked Iroh. I saw a few Dai Li agents file in. _This is it._

"Maybe the Earth King over slept," Iroh suggested eyeing the agents. I held onto Zukos hand harder.

"Something's not right," he whispered as the Dai Li agents formed a perfect circle around the table and us like a ring of sharks around a sinking boat.

"It's tea time." A cool, feminine voice rang out through the room. I brought my attention to the throne and found Azula standing in Earth Kingdom clothing. Zuko jumped up dropping my hand in the process.

"Azula," he spat and hit a sturdy stance. She smirked and flashed a glance in my direction.

"Have you met the Dai Li? They're earth benders but the have a killer instinct that's so fire bender." I could see the crazy in her face already. "I just love it," she almost growled.

Iroh picked up a cup of tea from in front of him and slowly rose to his feet. I followed hesitantly.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname, 'the Dragon of the West,'" Iroh asked addressing an impatient looking Azula.

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote Uncle." I felt Zuko grab my wrist and start to pull me closer. Something was going to happen.

"It's more of a demonstration really," Iroh smiled and brought the cup to his lips. Zuko's gaze stayed steady on Azula but I could feel the anticipation in his muscles against mine. Suddenly Zuko threw me on the ground between Iroh and himself who went back to back with me lying in between their feet. Iroh breathed out fire at one half of the Dai Li while Zuko blocked me from any fire that would come in my direction. The Dai Li were stunned long enough that Zuko blasted a hole through the wall so that we could run out. Zuko ran out first yanking me to my feet and running down the hall never letting go of my wrist. Iroh kept breathing fire at them until he was out of the tea room then ran following us.

The Dai Li soon followed Iroh and shot bullet like rocks down the hall at us just missing us as we turned the corner. I yelped at the noise but kept running since Zuko was set on not slowing down. Iroh ran ahead and blasted a shot of lighting out of the dead end we were running to. He jumped out before Zuko and I reached the edge. Iroh landed on top of a hedge, which broke his fall. Zuko and I stopped.

"Come on, you'll be fine," Iroh shouted up to us. I looked to Zuko who suddenly resembled the angry teenage boy I had first met. He looked at me determined.

"No, I'm tired of running," he said firmly.

"I'm not leaving without you Zuko," I snapped at him. He shook his head at me.

"I need to do this, it's time I faced Azula," he pushed me forward so that I fell out of the side of the building. I quickly blew air against the ground to ease my landing and ended right next to Iroh. He slapped his head then grabbed me to get out. I started to run back, furious that he had just pushed me out of a building, but was stopped by Iroh.

"You can yell at him later, if we run back now there is no way we will all escape this." I huffed knowing that what he was saying was the truth and followed him. We ran towards the street where the carriage had dropped us off at and picked up a new one. I pulled out some money from my bag and threw it to the driver.

"Where are we going Iroh," I asked trying to catch my breath.

"The Avatar's residence please" he breathily yelled and the carriage took off. We spent a few minutes catching our breath before I unveiled my anger.

"Your nephew is the most dimwitted hothead I've ever encountered in my entire life," I said between breaths. He shook his head.

"Sometimes, he lets his stubbornness overrule his life. However we all have flaws that we must overcome," he shook his head. It didn't take too long for us to reach the spot where the carriage dropped us off. We both jumped out and ran up to the door. I went to go knock but was stopped by Iroh's hand.

"Wait, there is an agent on top of the building behind us." Iroh whispered to me. I nodded and walked over to the other house pretending to go knock on their door but instead slipped to the backside of the house. After I took a deep breath I pushed off the ground and used a gust of wind to through me higher so that I could land on the roof. I landed softly so that the Dai Li agent who was laying on the tiles wouldn't hear me. I pulled a ribbon from bag and jumped again. This time I landed straddling the agent who was still laying on his belly. I quickly wrapped the ribbon around his mouth before he could scream then wrapped another around his wrists and ankles so that he couldn't earth bend. I flipped the sweaty man over onto his bag and saw his big fearful eyes staring straight up at mine. I winked at him the jumped back down onto the ground with him and dragged him over to the house that Iroh was still standing at. We threw him onto the side of the patio.

"Stay there," I sang to him with a smile as we walked up to the door.

Iroh knocked. It suddenly dawned on me that I was going to meet the Avatar. We waited a few moments before the door opened. A girl that had misty light green eyes and a large black bun opened the door.

"Glad to see you're okay," the girl said to Iroh. I could tell she was Toph suddenly by the way she never looked directly at anything. I could see a teenager about Zuko's age standing just by her side and a boy with tattoos standing behind the two of them. The boy and I exchanged a familiar look. I had dreamt about him. I know I had, I just couldn't remember the dream. Yes, he could be familiar from the television show, but there was something different about this familiarity. There was a slight glow to his eyes I noticed upon making eye contact with me, however when we were brought back to reality by Iroh's voice his reaction turned to shock.

"I need your help," Iroh stated seriously. The boy that was Zuko's age assumed a defensive position and Toph kindly waved at the two of us.

"You guys know each other," Aang yelled pointing at Iroh, still filled with shock. He moved enough to disturb Momo who was resting on top of his shaven head. I looked between Toph and Iroh and didn't recall them ever meeting, but then again I didn't necessarily see all of the episodes.

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down," Toph explained while Iroh scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "Then he gave me tea and some very good advice." Iroh bowed in appreciation, I followed suite.

"May we come in," Iroh asked. Toph nodded and we stepped inside. I was receiving curious looks from both Aang and Sokka as they also inspected Iroh with suspicion.

"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se," Iroh got right down to business. Aang jumped forward.

"She must have Katara."

"She has captured my nephew as well," Iroh explained. Aang looked down at the ground.

"Then we will work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko." Sokka suddenly threw his hands up.

"Woah there," he walked up to Aang then threw a finger at his chest, "you lost me at Zuko." I laughed feeling the same way at the moment, not understanding Spyros oddly working mind.

"I know how you must feel about my nephew," Iroh looked over at me speaking for me at the same time, then placed his hands on Sokkas shoulders. "But believe me when I say that there is good inside him." Iroh smiled.

"Good inside him isn't enough," Sokka pulled his hands off of his shoulders and grew a stern face. "Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay," Sokka pushed Iroh back. Iroh and I shared a worried glance before Aang piped in.

"Katara's in trouble, all of Ba Sing Se is in trouble," Sokka looked away from the pleading Avatar. "Working together is our best chance." Sokka only nodded and grumbled to give his confirmation.

"We brought someone along who might be able to help us," Iroh walked through the four of us towards the entrance doors. I smirked fondly remembering my first capture. The four of us followed him out. As soon as Toph reached the outside, she restrained him even further by earth bending walls that tightly held him in place. Iroh walked up and pulled the ribbon from his mouth. The man breathed heavily for a moment then spit everything out.

"Azula and Long Fe are plotting a coup, they're going to overthrow the Earth King." The man was still sweating with the same wide fearful eyes from before. Sokka stepped forward with his saber in hand.

"My sister," he cut his saber through the air and pointed it towards the agent who flinched, "where are they keeping Katara?"

"In the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace." The five of us all started to run but I stopped for a moment and ran back to the man grabbing my ribbon from around his neck.

"This was just a temporary loan," I smiled then caught up with the others. We ran around to the side of the house where a large white animal with an arrow on its head was munching on something. I gasped at the largeness of this animal. Aang swiftly air bended onto the head of the animal where he took the reins while Sokka helped Iroh climb up the back of the tail. Toph used earth to launch herself up. I decided to take Aangs technique and landed not quite so softly on the back of the animal. Aangs eyes grew wide.

"We can discuss it later, for now let's just get to Zuko and Katara," I shoved my ribbon back into my bag then started to take off the fancy outer layer of my clothes and stuff that into the back pack so that I was in a simple dress with an empire waist. I pulled my hair out of the intricate design I created for the fake tea party and threw it up into a ponytail with one of my old hair ties.

"Yip-yip," Aang directed and the bison took off. I held on tightly to the fur since they did not have the saddle on the bison. When the bison took off, it wasn't the same sensation as an airplane, it was more along the lines of the initial feeling you get on one of the slingshot rides. I didn't appreciate it one bit.

"Who are you anyway," Sokka yelled overtop of the wind.

"My name's Lily," I shouted out and offered my hand to him.

"Sokka, and this is Toph and Aang, he's the Avatar." I nodded.

"I know." I smiled then looked down from the bison and noticed that we had traveled much higher than I was expecting. The cartoon version of it made it look less terrifying. I felt like I was holding onto the outside of a plane. I was more than excited when we landed. I slid down the side of the fuzzy animal and patted off the fur that had clung to my body and clothes.

Toph knelt down on one knee as everyone was discharging the bison and placed her hand on the ground.

"Well, what do you know? There is an ancient city down there, but it's deep." She stepped back and I felt a rumble in the ground beneath me as she raised her arms then sliced them outwards bringing her upper body forward a bit. A large hole opened up in the ground.

"We should split up," Sokka suggested. "Aang you go with Iroh and Lily to look for Katara and the angry jerk." Sokka looked over in our direction, "No offense." Iroh and I shrugged at each other.

"None taken," Iroh said.

"You forgot stupid. He's a stupid, angry, jerk at the moment," I corrected.

"I'll go with Toph to warn the Earth King about Azulas coup." Sokka said and we all split up. Toph and Sokka ran in the other direction while Aang, Iroh and I all continued down the tunnel Aang was digging out.

"You're an air bender," Aang announced as soon as we started walking down, "are there others that survived, how did you guys survived, which temple were you at?" He started to bombard me with questions I felt bad but I had to stop him.

"I'm not from any temple, I just found out that I had this gift. I don't even know how to use it yet" I saw his face drop so I continued, "but I'm sure there are others out there like me. Think about it, if it happened to me, it could happen to any non-bender." I placed my hand on his shoulder in comfort. He perked up a bit, at the hope that there were others out there. We walked for a while longer in silence until Aang brought up conversation.

"So, Toph thinks you give pretty good advice," he nonchalantly brought up addressing Iroh who was holding a flame to give us light, "and great tea," Aang added.

"The key to both is proper aging" Iroh smiled through the dark. I giggled a bit. "What's on your mind?" Aang pushed the wall back further so that we could continue walking.

"Well I met with this guru who was supposed to help me master the Avatar state and control this great power; but to do it, I had to let go of someone I love" Aang stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. I could feel his confusion. "I just couldn't."

"Perfection and power are overrated," Iroh advised. "I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love." Aang pushed the wall back further again and we continued walking.

"What happens if I can't save everyone and beat Azula? Without the Avatar state, what if I'm not powerful enough?"

"I don't know the answer, sometimes life is like this dark tunnel." Iroh looked at me for a moment, I could tell that he was directing this advise towards me as well I just didn't know what about. "You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving," Aang pushed the wall back further again to reveal the underground crystal cove we were looking for, "you will come to a better place." I decided to store those words of wisdom for later and focus on getting Zuko and Katara out.

We ran around for a while trying to find where Zuko and Katara were locked away. Aang took a moment to feel the vibrations in the ground to find there position after a while.

"They are over here come on," he waved us over and blew out a section the wall. Iroh and I followed into the cove and when the dust cleared out a bit I could hear the voice of Katara ring out.

"Aang," she joyfully yelled out and ran to embrace Aang.

"Zuko," I yelled with the same joy Katara had and ran with Iroh to embrace him. He placed his arm around my waist and let me hug him, but I could feel his muscles suddenly tense. When I looked up to him he was having a stare down with Aang who was currently holding Katara.

"Aang, I knew you would come for us," Katara leaned back to look Aang in the eyes with a fond smile.

"I don't understand," Zuko pulled away from us, "what are you doing with the Avatar?"

"Saving you that's what," Aang snapped. Zuko went to lunge forward at Aang but was stopped by Iroh and I each grabbing a hold of one of his shoulders.

"Zuko, it's time we talk," Iroh looked him sternly in the eye then turned to Aang and Katara with his normal kindness. "Go help your other friends we'll catch up with you." Aang and Katara left through the tunnel we had made earlier, I noticed a glance that Katara shot back to Zuko. There was sympathy in her gaze.

"Why Uncle," Zuko asked quietly, I took a hold of his hand.

"You are not the man you used to be Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been, and now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. Its time for you to choose." Zuko clenched his eyes shut and squeezed my hand more tightly as he clenched his other fist. "It's time for you to choose good."

Just as Iroh finished his last word, there was a rumble followed by my body being ripped off the ground. Zuko's tight grasp was broken and the green crystal that was illuminating the cove confined me. When I was able to realize what happened, it was to late to do anything. Iroh and I were held captive by Dai Li agents and the fire princess. Zuko took a defensive stance in between the two of us.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko… Prince Zuko" Azula stepped forward towards him as he softened his stance listening intently to her. "You're a lot of things, but your not a traitor. Are you?"

"Release them immediately," he demanded.

"It's not too late for you Zuko, you can still redeem yourself," Azula leaned into her hip with a smug and convincing smirk.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh said. I pulled against the crystal trying to release myself.

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle," Azula sneered at the man then shot me an equally dirty glance.

"I need you Zuko, I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Firenation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day you will have your honor back, you will have fathers love, you will have everything you want." Azula played him like a puppet and I could see straight through her phony lie. Iroh could as well.

"Zuko, I'm begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want," Iroh looked over at me towards the end of his sentence which brought Zuko's attention over to me. I knew that he was going to betray both of us but I still felt the need to plea for him to rethink.

"Please Zuko," I begged staring him straight in the eyes. He held my gaze as Azula spoke.

"You are free to choose." Azula held up her hand to stop the Dai Li from holding their form. They returned up the tunnel they came from, while Azula took the tunnel that Aang and Katara had traveled down. Zuko brought his gaze away from mine down onto the floor in front of him, he was deeply focused on his thoughts. I could feel tears prickle my eyes a bit as I saw him drop his head. Iroh and I looked at each other, he looked very solemn offering me no consolation. The minutes dragged by until Zuko's voice rang through the silence.

"I'm sorry," he said softly clenched his hands together firmly then blasted fire at the crystal to release us. I fell to the ground and tumbled forward for a few second. By the time I stood to my feet to see Zuko, he had disappeared.

"Run through that cave, and get the money out of the apartment and get out of Ba Sing Se" Iroh hurriedly advised me. I felt the tears fall down my face and shook my head.

"No, I'm going to help you and the Avatar," I firmly responded.

"You do not have enough training to face Azula and that many Dai Li," Iroh shook his head, "we will be captured." I took a deep breath and felt a sting that ran through my chest.

"I know, but I need to do something with my life besides run. My destiny is to face the darkness in the tunnel and not run back out of it." Iroh nodded and we ran ahead. I ran ahead of Iroh who was running slower from his age.

When I reached where everyone was fighting I saw Zuko being thrown against a pile of the green crystal. We locked eyes for a moment before he turned to cut through a watery grasp Katara had on Azula. I jumped down off of the ledge I was standing on and ran closer to them. Katara was laying on her back trying to recompose herself and I could see Zuko beginning to shoot a flame at her but I quickly shot a blast of air at him that shoved him down and kept him from hitting Katara. He looked up at me shocked. I had never let him know that I was an air bender.

"I thought you had changed," I yelled and shot another blast at him as he stood up. He cut through the air. "You betrayed me!" He started to form another fire blast at me, but I swiped my foot in a circular motion that made him fall forward and put out the flame he had started. "You betrayed Iroh!" I could feel my angry tears falling loosely, he jumped to his feet and cut his hand through the air and sent a shot of fire in my direction but I jumped high in the air and landed on the other side of him.

We battled for a while longer angrily throwing blasts of air and fire in each other directions until Katara joined up with me. We both were about to through Zuko back but Azula jumped in and her and Zuko threw a large blast of blue and red mixed fire toward us. I was able to throw up a wall of air in time to keep us from getting burnt but Katara and I were thrown back against the green crystal. Katara fell to the ground first but I had a moment to catch a glance at Zuko before my body collapsed bellow me.

I had a few seconds on the ground before Katara pulled me up to my feet.

"Come on, I need help," I shook my head clear of the ringing that persistently played. I took a defensive stance ready to shoot air out as Katara formed an octopus ring of water around us against the several Dai Li agents that were surrounding us.

While Katara and I were trying to hold of the Dai Li, Aang had formed a crystal barrier around him, we didn't notice however until a bright light illuminated the cove. I took a moment to look back just before a gust of wind pushed me a little. Aang was rising out of the crystal barrier he had created and was in the Avatar state. I grabbed a hold of Katara.

"Azula's gonna blast him, we have to help," I saw the small sparks of electricity build up around Azula and Katara and I began to run over to Aang. The lightning hit him before we could reach him.

"No," Katara water bended the water around her to create a giant wave so she could reach him quicker and take out the Dai Li in her way. I threw a gust of wind to help her break his fall. She caught him limply in her arms as I ran over. I looked up to the ceiling and found an opening and started to drag her towards it as Zuko and Azula approached the two of us. I glared Zuko in the eyes the entire time until we were interrupted by a blast of fire sent from above. Iroh had finally caught up and was fending Zuko and Azula off for us.

"You've got to get out of here, I'll hold them off as long as I can," Iroh jumped in between us and the rest of the soldiers and royal family. I yanked Katara over to the opening. She used her water bending to create an elevator like system to push her and Aang up while I jumped from ledge to ledge until I reached the top. Just as we reached the surface, Appa swooped down just long enough for me to jump up and for Sokka to reach his hand out and pull Katara up with Aang still in her arms. I sat next to Sokka and Toph as we watched Katara try to heal the wound on Aangs back created by the lightning bolt. The water in her hand spun for a while and glowed as she applied it to his back. His body absorbed the water but nothing happened. Katara gasped and let a sob escape. Sokka and Toph solemnly watched and listened.

After a moment the tattoos on his body lit up and he groaned. He half-opened his eyes for a moment and smiled. Katara cried and pulled him into a gentle hug. We all smiled at each other glad that he was okay but still all slightly sad about the events that had just occurred.

"We'll land outside the city walls, we can't stay here in the city any longer" Sokka said and switched spots with Katara and Aang at the head of Appa to take the reigns. He pulled us up above the clouds to cover us from sight and we flew off through the night.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed. Next one should be up soon. I forgot to mention in the last update, but I wrote a little short story about Azula after the war for an ATLAFC monthly competition. I think I'm going to incorporate the OC I added in it for future chapters of Firelily and maybe the sequel. Not sure yet.


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